Subjectivity in quantitative nursing research : supporting the postpositivist views

The credibility of research is important for its consumption. Reviewers and consumers of research place huge emphasis on the validity and reliability of the results which are mainly affected by the level of objectivity in the research process. Debates still exist between supporters of different paradigms as they disagree on what makes research credible, what makes it valid and to what extent, and which methodology is more appropriate. This paper presents a comparative view of credibility between quantitative and qualitative paradigms by exploring the issues of subjectivity and objectivity in its methodologies. In this discussion more weight is placed on the “subjective decisions” made by the so called “objective researchers”.